Worms was a small city of 7000. However, there was nothing modest about what took place on April 18, 1521. On that day, Martin Luther was at the center of the most important turning point in the history of Christianity since Christ.
Pressured to recant his prolific writings in the presence of the Holy Roman Emperor and other powerful leaders of the state and the church, the 37-year old Luther voiced timeless words. First, we hear the demands of the imperial secretary: “Come then; answer the question of his majesty, whose kindness you have experienced in seeking a time for thought. Do you wish to defend all your acknowledged books, or to retract some?”
Luther’s initial response was unsatisfactory for the court and it demanded a clear statement of whether he would recant. Luther’s final words were unambiguous: “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience.”
Luther spoke with conviction, someone who given the matter serious thought. Six months earlier, he had written in his treatise On Christian Liberty: “[U]se your freedom constantly and consistently in the sight of and despite the tyrants and the stubborn so that they also may learn that they are impious, that there laws are of no avail for righteousness, and that they had no right to set them up.”
Yes, much of Luther’s other writings contributed greatly to theology, yes, his stand caused the reconfiguration of politics in Europe, and, yes, his birthing of Protestantism prompted a rebooting of the Catholic Church (his stand also released forces of chaos as different groups rebelled against authority). But no less important is that his words scored a victory for the idea of freedom. One powerful message was that Christians can obey God’s Holy Word before all other authorities. The individual can break with established authorities on the authority of Scripture alone. Early Christianity had added “to the idea of the individual a dignity and a worth that it had never had in classical antiquity.” In the face of possible martyrdom, Luther took it one step further.
Luther’s stand is reassuring for Bible-believing Christians in Canada who face the increasingly secular and statist ideals of the New Democratic Party and Liberal Party. Neither political party will allow you to be one of their candidates unless you support the murder of the unborn. And do not expect much freedom from the democrat socialists and liberals if you have a biblical understanding of marriage. When coercion comes calling, it will be helpful to lean on the authority of Scripture as Luther did.
A difficult term to define, freedom might best be seen as the absence of coercion. Sadly, secular philosophers and other intellectual pagans teach “that religious absolutes by their nature, and the Christian religion in particular, are congenial to oppression.” If we look at how the Church establishment attempted to mute Luther in the early 16th century, we can see that Christian oppression occurred. But in the totality of human history such cases of Christian oppression are usually short-term. Besides, the number of examples of major Christian oppression typically stand out because they are the exception.
If we look at world history since the Protestant Reformation, there is a mountain of evidence of the relationship of Christianity and freedom. Where one finds true Christianity, one finds a pretty good record of freedom. Where one finds political hostility to the Bible, one finds countless examples to totalitarianism. The terrible despotic episodes of the 20th century saw political leaders kill as many as 75 million people of their own people.
The most odious left-wing movement of the last century was fascism. The fascists loathed free-market capitalism, the Gospel Message, and they rejected the idea of individualism treasured today by conservatives. All knowing and all powerful was the State. Statists demand control. We are all aware of the evil of socialist Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler and his National Socialists. As public intellectual M. Stanton Evans pointed out, the National socialist ideology glorified paganism, hated Christianity, and made occultist references to Aryanism. The National Socialist were particularly clever on the issue of freedom. They learned from the revolutionary socialists of Russia. In Russia, business owners were shot and industrialism almost came to a halt; in Germany, only business owners who disobeyed were shot. Read the platform of the National Socialists and then read the Communist Manifesto. The common ground shared by the two might astound you.
Let us return to the topic of Christianity and freedom. If you break it down further and look at the hostility of liberal Protestants to Bible-believing Christians you will find they are less interested in the idea of freedom, whether it be the freedom of the unborn or the freedom of the entrepreneur to create wealth that will benefit greater society. And do not be surprised if Protestant liberals have little criticism for euthanasia. When they speak of “quality of life,” it is usually code “that some people would be better off dead.”
Without Christianity there is less freedom. A nation that rejects God is ripe for tyranny. Like Martin Luther, Bible-believing Christians will need to take a stand against evil forces. Protestant liberal compromisers may not like the actions of those who rely on the authority of Scripture, but when the statists are finished with the conservatives, the liberal Christians will be the next target.
References:
M. Stanton Evans, The Theme is Freedom: Religion, Politics, and the American Tradition
Martin Luther, On Christian Liberty
Mark Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity
The Bayview Review 